Hi there!  My name is Holly, and this is Blaire, my 2nd, whose birth inspired Mama Meals.

My first pregnancy I spent tons of time researching and preparing for the birth but didn't pay much attention to postpartum.  After my first was born I ate what I thought was “healthy” like smoothies and salads, then splurged on junky stuff that friends and family brought.  I ended up super constipated (a bit traumatic after just pushing a baby out) and just feeling blah all the time, which I thought was normal.

A year later I learned about Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese medicine, then stumbled upon the book The First Forty Days, by Heng Ou, which painted a very different picture about how our ancestors nourished a postpartum Mom.  I learned new Mamas should be eating warm, soft, cooked, easy-to-digest foods like soups, stews, and broths.  I realized during my first postpartum I was eating tons of cold, raw, crunchy and dry foods which really affected how I felt.

Growing up Eric and I were sick all the time.  Eric dealt with headaches, ear infections, horrible allergies, and more, and I struggled with constant gut issues.  Doctors visits were the norm, and the answer always seemed to be another pill.  

When we met we were both chronically sick and trying to figure out what to do.  In 2011 we watched the documentary Food Inc which really opened our eyes to the food system. 

We started trading junk food and nights out at the bar for organic food and nights in watching food documentaries and drinking kombucha.

I started making our own soaps, toothpaste, and cleaning products.  We used washable napkins and ditched disposable kitchen supplies.  We cloth diapered our kids and used compostable bamboo ones when we didn't.  

Today we live in Orange County, practice respectful parenting, eat organ meat, go to the beach, have friends over ice baths, homeschool, exercise, and of course love helping others!